The north Atlantic is one of the most lucrative and highly competitive airline markets in the world. Since the late 1940s, numerous airlines have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to operate profitable commercial services on routes between Europe and North America.

A number of carriers have sought, unsuccessfully, to operate these services on a low-cost or "no-frills" basis. The latest to attempt such trans-Atlantic services is Norwegian, which launched routes earlier this month from London Gatwick to New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

As most people will be aware, low-cost airlines like Ryanair and easyJet differ from full-service operators by minimizing costs and only providing what is necessary for a safe and efficient flight. This includes flying a single type of aircraft to cut the costs of purchasing, maintenance, training and operations; offering a single economy class cabin; and flying frequent short-haul services, often between cheaper and less congested secondary or regional airports.

Low-cost airlines perform fast turnarounds (often under 25 minutes), carry high passenger loads and maximize the amount of time their aircraft spend in the air. They also focus on generating ancillary revenue by charging for items such as food and drink, hold baggage and priority boarding.

But can the model be extended to long-haul? Norwegian was established in 1993 and is now the third-largest low-cost operator in Europe (behind Ryanair and easyJet), carrying more than 20 million passengers a year. In May 2013, after receiving its first long-haul fuel-efficient B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, it began long-haul services from Oslo to New York and Bangkok. Flights from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm to Fort Lauderdale followed, as did a summer only service between Bergen and New York in May.

Then came London. With one-way fares to Los Angeles, New York and Fort Lauderdale priced from $341, $255 and $307 respectively, the new routes were heralded for offering increased competition, improving consumer choice and providing more affordable flights across the north Atlantic.

It is worth recalling those who have been here before. In September 1977 Freddie Laker's Skytrain began flying between Gatwick and New York for $101 one-way. It was forced to cease operations just five years later due to aggressive pricing by the established airlines.

There are a number of factors which could make long-haul low-cost aviation sustainable nowadays. Aircraft such as the B787-8 are more fuel efficient than their predecessors and the Internet significantly reduces distribution costs.

All the same, major hurdles remain. Longer flight times mean aircraft can only perform two flights a day as opposed to six, while crew have to spend nights away from home, which adds significantly to costs. Greater volumes of hold baggage increase turnaround times and aircraft may need to depart at antisocial hours of the morning since they are operating across multiple time zones, which can complicate scheduling. This may not be possible at airports with strict night-noise curfews.

Added to these are the usual challenges for airline businesses: environmental concerns and volatile oil prices, new security threats and the shifting balance of economic power towards the Middle East, India and China.

While there are many examples of short-haul low-cost operations around the world, there are relatively few long-haul equivalents. The only other example of a trans-Atlantic low-cost service is the daily summer-only Toronto-St John's-Dublin flight that was inaugurated in June by the Canadian carrier WestJet.

Stephen Ison is a professor of Transport Policy at Loughborough University. Lucy Budd is a senior lecturer in air Transport at Loughborough University.